Years of Farming is excited to start off 2019 by welcoming Ralph Stanley II and the Clinch Mountain Boys back to Double S Entertainment, 150 Foster Street, Flemingsburg on Sunday, Jan. 6 at 2 p.m.
IBMA’s 2018 Emerging Artist of the Year Po Ramblin Boys will be the opening band. Cost of tickets will be $15, available in advance or at the door. Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult are admitted free. Attendees will have the chance to win door prizes provided by our sponsors along with two tickets to the Jan. 27, Years of Farming show featuring The Grascals!, The West Liberty Mountain Boys opening.
Ralph Stanley II and The Clinch Mountain Boys are celebrating their Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart that was released on Stanley Family Records last year. Even into 2018, the band is still regularly appearing on that coveted Top 15 chart. This self-titled album was the first release for the group since Ralph II took over the Clinch Mountain Boys band name in 2016 per the wishes of his late father Dr. Ralph Stanley. The band includes Clinch Mountain Boy John Rigsby on fiddle, mandolin and vocals; Alex Leach on banjo and vocals; Randall Hibbitts on the upright bass and vocals; and Ralph Stanley II on the guitar and lead vocals. This band configuration brings a lot of talent, energy and humor to the stage as they perform old-time favorites, bluegrass hits and new original material. Ralph II has had two Grammy nominations on previous albums he recorded with Rebel Records. In 2002 he earned his first Grammy along with his father. Dr. Ralph Stanley for their collaboration with Jim Lauderdale on Lost in the Lonesome Pines. Ralph II has proven to be an accomplished songwriter and has 6 solo albums under his belt, along with the highly acclaimed duet album with his father titled Side by Side.
IBMA 2018 Emerging Artist of the Year The Po Ramblin Boys formed in the Smoky Mountains just 4 years ago. They are not at all what you would expect from a tattooed East Tennessee Bluegrass outfit. They take pride in being ambassadors of their genre, and the group has brought their music from rural bluegrass festival stages to the rock clubs of Europe, with stunning results. C J Lewandowski was working at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in Sevierville, Tenn., when he was approached to form a full-time band and sought out his friends. Jereme Brown, plays banjo for the group, and Josh Rinkel plays guitar.
“Jereme was doing a lot of welding work at that time, and Josh was running a sign company. Bassist Jasper Lorentzen was working in the tasting room at the distillery, and he turned out to be the perfect final addition to the band. The four friends played multiple times a week for a year and half, honing their band sound, meanwhile word was spreading about their music. The first gig we played out of town was a festival in Alberta, Canada, and a week later we went on a two week tour of Europe.”
Material for the group’s debut album “Back To The Mountains,” was a combination of original songs and old numbers that honor the group’s mentors and bluegrass heroes. Their latest single “Next Train South,” is a song cut by one of Lewandowski’s teachers from his native Missouri.
“This song hasn’t been recorded since 1974. We love to sing older songs, because when they bring them to a larger audience, our heroes music will not be forgotten.”
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys passion for bluegrass is as clear as it is contagious. With a heavy touring schedule across the United States and Europe and recently signed record deal with the esteemed Rounder Records, the Boys are well on their way to becoming the quintessential bluegrass band of their generation. Despite all of their recent success, they maintain a humble perspective.
“Bluegrass has left such a mark on us that we feel like we owe something back to the music,” says Lewandowski. “We want to do something for the music to show our appreciation. We really want to honor bluegrass muic by bringing it out of the shadows and onto new stages and wider audiences because we know that if we can bring Bluegrass to new folks, those folks will come with us and support the bluegrass community.”
Our goal is not only to provide bluegrass music in our area, but also to promote our local businesses. We are pleased to be sponsored by 43 local businesses that employ more than 500 people in our community including three other great festivals in our area. Most of our sponsors have sponsored all our shows we have scheduled since 2011. We appreciate our sponsors whether this is their first show to sponsor or if they have sponsored all. Please take the time to thank our many Fleming County businesses for helping us bring great bluegrass music to Flemingsburg.
We hope you will join us at Years of Farming for an afternoon of awesome bluegrass music. It is a great opportunity to see this caliber of artists in our area in an indoor facility. If you are not familiar with any of our bands, whether a feature band or an opening band, check their websites and/or YouTube for some of their music and history and you will want to attend.
Keep checking our website www.yearsoffarming.com for updates in our schedule. For more information or tickets you can contact Paula Hinton at 606-748-0798 or [email protected].